Photographs
by ShindaHotaru
Summary: One day, he found himself in his rival's old home, and finding out more about him than he had ever dreamed about. But it was the only way to feel close to him.  Comashipping. Palletshippy hints, also other shippings to be expected.
1. Chapter 1

**Photographs**

**Pairing:** Comashipping (Ash/Paul)  
**Rating:** T  
**Warning:** Slash; not sure about anything yet but be warned though.

**Summary:** One day, he found himself in his rival's old home, and finding out more about him than he had ever dreamed about. But it was the only way to feel close to him.

**Note: **First things first. After hearing that Paul plans to go to Kanto for competing in the Battle Frontier, my comashipping radar went crazy and I came up with this idea. So, this is about Paul visiting the Kanto region and doing something pretty odd for him. I think I need to explain that I've changed him a bit for this fanfic, making him a bit more emotional. This makes him OOC-ish, I know, but I thought that his battle against Ash must've changed something inside of him, disregarding any comashippy theories.

So, this is going to be a longer fanfic, not sure about how long though. Just let me know what you think, Chapter Two is on its way to be done pretty soon (maybe even today XD).

Oh, and Tamamushi City is Celadon City, Masara Town is Pallet Town, just in case you don't know. Which no one can blame you for ;)

Thanks for reading!

How the hell did he get stuck in here anyway? Probably, he got lost. And instead of heading north towards Route 2, he walked along Route 1 and ended up here. Yeah, that sounded more like him. Maps have always been a mystery to him and the last time he visited this region was a long, long time ago, so he...

No. Sighing, he closed his eyes and fought the urge of slapping himself. As well as he could fool others, he couldn't fool himself. He wanted to come here, if only to see this town firsthand. And didn't they say curiosity was natural? It was simply him being curious about... about... Darn it! He didn't need to justify himself, definitely not to his own mind!

There was nothing wrong with being in this town, didn't a lot of people come here for the famous professor's residence? Wasn't this place known for its peacefulness, for its good trainers? There's so much history to this place that many people would visit it on their journey through this region. Right? That was why he was her-

"Dear, you also want some lemon cake? I've made some this morning." His eyes opened and he stared at the front door opposite of him. No, he couldn't fool himself. It wasn't just the fact that he came here for this town, but he eventually ended up in this house as well. Which had nothing to do with said touristic things.

Oh, how he wished he was rude enough to just run through that door and out of this town. Mentally, he already was at the end of Route 1, far, far away from this place. Taking a deep breath in, he replied politely, "No, ma'am, just some coffee suffices." He turned around to watch her going back into the kitchen, a wide smile on her face.

Maybe he was here for her. While heading straight for the local professor's laboratory -just to keep up the appearance that he only visited this town for its famous researcher-, he had passed by a small, almost cabin-like house, nothing compared to any of the homes he knew from Sinnoh. A middle-aged woman was watering her flowers, neatly planted alongside the white fence. For whatever reasons, he stopped in his tracks, paralyzed rather by a realization than the woman in that little yard in front of that tiny house. After a few minutes of just standing there and watching, he shook his head and decided to finally drop it and leave this town for ever. Moving forward, he thought how pathetic he was and that he should've never _accidentally _gotten here. But he didn't get far: a soft voice made him halt, turning around and looking into the motherly smiling face of that woman he had just been watching.

That's how he had gotten here in the first place. She had asked him if he was a traveling trainer looking for a place to crash for the night, and immediately offered him a room for the night. Such a kindhearted and trusting person, and who was he to decline such an offer? Even with the possibility of this being _his_ house. Then, he felt pity for her. She seemed to feel lonely, living here with just her Pokémon and a room that used to be inhabited by her son who was out on his journey miles away from home.

By that time, he was angry with himself. First, he adjourned his training for the Battle Frontier, second, he ended up in a house which apparently was the former home of _him_, and third, he felt pity for the woman living her all by herself. Him feeling pity! He! When did things become so complicated? Since when would he pause his trainer journeys to be company to some old, lonesome lady? Probably filling that gap in her heart for a little while that her son had left a long time ago.

Since when did he care?

In attempt to regain his composure, he turned around in search for some distraction. It didn't take him so long to find something; just opposite of him was a wall decorated with several framed photographs. He wasn't the nosy type, and normally, he wasn't even curious. Yet, the whole day was strange and so not him that he decisively walked closer to the wall and examined the photos hanging on the wall.

The majority of them showed a little dark-haired boy, some including his mother, others with the professor or some other kids. A weak smile crept onto his lips, when he noticed the little boy smiling the broadest smile on every photo. On each photo, his smile had such an intensity that insouciance and cheerfulness even reached the observer. Admittedly, that hadn't changed a bit. Whenever he'd used to be around him, he had felt so much lighter, so much calmer. So much... happier. And that, for some reason, made him feel good about coming to this place.

Unfortunately, on the other hand, this only confirmed that this indeed was _his_ house, and that the room the woman had offered him had to be _his_ room. How perfect, another sleepless night...

In order to not really slap himself, he continued his examination on the photographs lined up on the wall. There was one that in particular caught his attention, so much that he leaned in closer to have a better view. It again showed the little dark-haired boy, wearing what regarding the other photos seemed to be his favorite shirt, but a less cheerful yet more honest smile adorning his lips. Next to him and tightly clinging onto him, was another boy, at least at the same age if not a year older. His hair was an auburn-ish color and probably even more chaotic than the other boy's. Contrary to that, the smile on the brown-haired boy was rather weak and halfhearted.

Wondering who this boy could be, he leaned back a bit and fell deep in thought, so that he didn't hear the approaching steps coming from the kitchen. Naturally, he jumped when the woman behind him spoke, the longing clear in her otherwise calm voice. "That photo was taken on a day trip to Tamamushi City. It was a great experience for the two of them to spend the whole day in the Department store. You know, growing up in Masara, nearly anything can amaze you. So that day must've been such a great day to them, that they would even weeks later recall the memories." She paused to breathe in and out, then she walked past him and took down the photo she was talking about. Holding it firmly in her hands like it was the most valuable treasure she owned, she moved closer to him so they could both look at it while she kept on telling about her son.

Pointing at the dark-haired boy, "That's my son, Satoshi. He was always so cheerful, never failed at making one smile, no matter how depressed you were feeling." She seemed to be lost in memory as she fell silent and just stared at the motionless picture of her son. Luckily, she quickly snapped out of it and moved her index finger to the boy next to her son. "This, this is Shigeru, his best friend. First, they didn't really get along and I thought that since Shigeru only stayed in Masara for the weekends, they didn't have enough time to get to know each other. His grandfather, Ookido-Hakase, and I would let them play together every weekend, we might have forced them to become friends but back then, we felt like our plan was justified. You know, neither Shigeru nor Satoshi were quite outgoing, both of them had no friends and so we thought that maybe they could become friends. But it didn't quite work out. Not until Shigeru moved to his grandfather full-time. That's when the two of them bonded and became the best of friends." Brushing away some tears, she continued, "You hardly ever saw them separated. That's why everybody was surprised at the sudden change of Shigeru. One day, Shigeru stopped coming over, stopped reacting to Satoshi's calls and attempted to push him out of his life. That's when they became rivals, and unlike everybody's expectations, they set out on their journeys separated from each other."

Feeling a bit moved by the honesty of her, he raised a hand and hesitantly stroked her back. He wanted to hear a lot more, it kind of felt good to listen to her talking about her son. Encouraging her to go on with her story, he asked, "So, are they still rivals?"

She shook her head. "No, no. The last time I spoke to Shigeru he told me that they've worked it out and that they're friends again. But the distance doesn't make it easy for them to grow close again. You see, my son's hardly ever at home, and Shigeru is often forced to stay at one location because of his researches. I guess they haven't seen each other in months." Another wave of tears threaded to fall down her cheeks and she placed the photo back, turning to him, "So, Shinji, dear, you wanna have a cup of coffee with me then?"

There was no way of fighting it anymore, this woman had warmed up his heart and made him feel as comfortable and good that only a mother could. No wonder her son was the way he knew him; with such a caring and loving mother, how could you become any different? Smiling for the first time in years, he replied, "I'd love to."


	2. Chapter 2

The conversation over the coffee was less nostalgic and fortunately not as teary as their little journey to the past. Though it was kind of awkward to talk about himself, Shinji told her about the beginning of his journey, of how he'd become the kind of trainer he was to date. He chose his words wisely and tried his best to make him appear like a good and caring trainer, or at least avoided to reveal that he was the exact opposite of her son. For some strange reason, he wanted her to like him, even if that meant that he had to _lie_. Thus, he didn't mention his encounters with her beloved Satoshi; he thought it was the best to keep it a secret.

"Mmmh," Hanako tipped her index finger against her lips, deep in thought. "That means, you were at the same time at the Suzuran Conference as my son, I guess." (A/N: Assuming that they don't broadcast the Conferences of the other regions on Kanto's television.) She beamed at him. "You've probably even met."

There it was, his chance of getting unharmed out of this mess. Lying or better say, avoiding the facts, worked fine for a while but sooner or later, it would only end up in an even greater disaster. And he didn't come here to get into trouble. No, for once, his intentions were good. Putting up an uneasy smile, he said, "I might have. I remember battling someone who looked like your son."

The smile on her lips weakened but didn't vanish. "What a pity you didn't have the chance to get to know him better." _Oh, I had and I wished I hadn't... _"He seems to be good at making new friends, he's got so many of them! A few of them occasionally come to visit me, especially his friend Kasumi." Mentioning that name, Hanako's lips curled into a wide smile again. The visits of her son's friends must be something she could hold onto, something that made the separation from her son less painful.

For a moment, the two of them just sat there, sipping their coffees and thinking about -probably- the same person. Shinji couldn't remember a time he hadn't seen Satoshi without his friends, even when they fought alongside each other during the Tag Battle Tournament; his friends would stand close by and cheer him on. At least, they would always be around the corner or in the room next to them. Other than himself, Satoshi was never alone, not a single time in all those years. One of the things that he hated about his rival and he couldn't find another explanation than that he was simply jealous of him.

Feeling that the break from their conversation was too long, he asked, "How is he doing right now?" He was eager to hear about it; since after their last battle at the Suzuran Conference, he was wondering what Satoshi's plans were. To be honest, he had hoped their plans would clash somewhere but sadly, they didn't so far.

"Oh, he left for Isshu a little about a month ago. We, that is Ookido-Hakase and I, escorted him there and stayed for a short time, to make sure he's fine. And to see the region ourselves since it's a lot different from all closer regions. It was nice to get out for a while," she offered a sad smile that she immediately hid behind her cup. "I hope he's doing alright. Every thing over there is so much different from here, even the nurses aren't the same. He's so far away, all on his own." Hastily, she took another sip of her coffee, her gaze focused on the wooden table beneath her hands. "You know, all those years he had been traveling with his best friend Takeshi, even if his other friends left during his journey; Takeshi never did. But now, even Takeshi left to follow his own dreams."

Never had he thought that behind this cheerful, energetic boy hid a broken, lonely mother. She looked so tired, so hurt, like she barely survived the days. He couldn't tell whether it helped her to talk about it or it worsened her pain. But what he knew was that he felt somewhat angry at Satoshi.

It was beyond him how he could let his mother go through all that pain without feeling the slightest bit guilty. Other people wished for a mother like Hanako, and he just let her stay at home and worry herself to misery.

He couldn't fight the feeling that was swelling up inside of him. Well, he was angry but he also felt disappointed. Didn't he come here to feel a bit closer to Satoshi? The more he heard about him, the farther away he felt from him. It felt close to waking up after a good dream and realizing that it would never become true.

He wasn't so sure about staying anymore.

* * *

A little later than planned, but here ya go. I hope it's not too boring (some critic would be appreciated) and that it's easy to understand.

A short chapter but the next is in progress! I promise to finish it soon. I'm working on other fanfics meanwhile, so it might take a while again. D:

Thanks for the favorites and happy reading!


	3. Chapter 3

After their little time travel, Shinji excused himself and left the house for a walk through Masara. He decided to stay at least for another day, just to make Hanako happy. For some strange reason, he felt responsible for her since no one else seemed to care about what hell she's going through. And maybe, he would tell Satoshi one day. Someone needed to open his eyes, right?

But that would mean he had to meet him again. After all that he's heard about his former rival, he wasn't so sure anymore whether he wanted to see him again any time soon. Though he couldn't quite put a finger on this feeling, he knew it was real and that it meant nothing good. Feelings never meant anything good and anything related to Satoshi never meant anything good, so added together... it meant something good?

Shaking the thought of his head, Shinji walked over to the little bridge that connected the professor's lab with the rest of Masara. In hopes of getting some distraction at the lab, he climbed the many stairs up to the entrance. The laboratory was situated on a hill high enough to see even the outskirts of the town, like it was meant to be a sort of tower to watch over Masara. On his way here, mostly on Route 1, he heard many tales about the town being a magical place, one for the creatures living there and the talented trainers and breeders who had grown up there. There were tales about three young trainers who had fought against an evil force that had been controlling Kanto after the great war. Two boys and a girl, with one of the boys being a relative of Masara's professor. When Shinji had asked what had happened to those three heroes, no one pleased him with an answer. All he had been offered was a sad smile, similar to those you would get if someone had passed away.

Shinji had never believed in tales and legends, or those weird rumors haunting Tobari City about their gym leader. When his parents had still lived with his brother and him, the kids at school had always picked on him because of the rumors the townsfolk had made up about his family. It wasn't like they were wrong; his mum was a wild weirdo, stuck on her teenage years and his father had suddenly stopped coming home from his business trips. But when he was little, he didn't want to believe any of their stupid stories about his mum having more boyfriends than Sinnoh had gyms. To him, they were just theories created to make him cry. Thus, he had stopped caring about rumors and people's opinions, had stopped putting his trust in anyone except of his brother.

But the people here seemed so much different from Tobari City. Probably it was because they hardly got out of their town since the only way to Tokiwa City was either by foot or car – the latter being a rare object to own in Masara. That fact differed the townsfolk here from any other one; they believed in tales and nature and seemed so trustworthy. When talking to one of Masara's few inhabitants, you wouldn't even think that their words were lies; it was like the word didn't even exist in their vocabulary.

So, Shinji dared to believe in the story of the three young heroes. Maybe he would ask Hanako about it later, a little more information would make it easier to believe in.

Finally, he reached the top of the stairs and found himself on a little porch, its cherry-colored material cracking under his feet as he approached the big front door. He had expected the laboratory to be more pompous but like everything else in Masara town, it was rather decent; it looked more like a normal house than a laboratory. There was a bench under the window next to the door, a blanket lazily folded on one side and a book on the other. Shinji chuckled at the sight, people in Masara tended to forget their belongings somewhere outside their homes and it was an implicitness that they would find it on the same spot the very next day. This was typical for the people here, like they had never heard about all the bad things in the world.

The entrance door was in the same cherry-toned wood as the floor of the porch, with some unclean, broken-off spots here and there as a proof of the door's old age. Though the professor must have enough money for reparations, he didn't seem to be bothered by the look of his dwelling. Maybe the researcher didn't even notice it for the flower pots adorning the porch brightened up the entire look of the entrance. Surely a good way to make the visitor feel comfortable right away, before they would even step a foot into the actual building.

Minutes passed by in which Shinji was just standing there on the porch letting the pureness of the surrounding space carry him away, somewhere in the back of his head he scolded himself for behaving like a dense idiot. But this town had already changed a little part of himself and who knew, maybe he would leave Masara as a new person.

He was so lost in this scene that he didn't hear the footsteps approaching him from behind. Just as a familiar voice sounded next to him, he woke up from his daze.

"I didn't know you wanted to visit Ookido-Hakase, you should've said a thing." It was Hanako, the usual smile on her features and a wicker basket held in her arms in front of her chest. "I was planning on bringing him some tomatoes anyway."

He responded with a nod. "I'll let you know next time."

"It's fine, don't stress yourself. So, you wanna come in then?" She walked over to the front door, pressing the handle down and pushing the door open. His face must've shown disbelief, as she laughed, "He never locks his door. Funny thing, except for his assistant and his grandson, I'm the only one who knows about it." She shoved the door further open for him to enter.

The hall behind the door was the exact opposite of the front porch; the room was medium-sized, very sterile in its colors and furniture. It was missing the familiarity from outside, and lacked the ability of making one feel welcome. There was a staircase on the right side, apparently leading to a second floor, and another door on the left side. No flowers, just a painting of the hillside of Masara next to the door and a little table below it.

Although the inside wasn't the way the outside was promising, it still looked strange for a laboratory. Nothing compared to Dr. Nanakamado's huge laboratory that looked similar to an university. But the look didn't seem to represent the professor's work since he was probably even the best around his field.

Hanako shut the door behind them and chuckled at Shinji examining the hallway. "You've never been here before, have you? It doesn't look the way you'd expect it from a world-famous researcher, I assume." She walked over to him, the arched handle of the basket lazily hung over her left lower arm. Nodding her head in the direction of the other door, she said, "This door leads to actual living part of the laboratory. That's where the kitchen and the bedrooms are, for example. This way," pointing with her arm down the hallway, "leads to the huge research room, and two separate smaller research rooms, a library and the storage room of the pokéballs of the trainers Ookido-Hakase is supervising. Up there," she raised her hand up the stairs, "is the office, a small conference room, a room with a pokémon healing station and several other rooms for researching. Oh, and there's also Shigeru's office.

"At this time of day, Ookido-Hakase is usually outside feeding the pokémon. He does it all by himself with help by his assistant Kenji. It's a lot of work for a man at his age but he's too stubborn to accept any more help." She started walking, then turned around, "Don't you wanna come along?"

He had been lost in his thoughts again, imagining the professor feeding a herd of agitated Tauros. He shook his head and followed her, curiously looking around while they headed for the door to the huge garden.

* * *

And that's it so far, Chapter 4 won't take too long, hopefully. Christmas is coming to I will have some time to write. ^.^ There are a few things I wanna say:

Thanks for aaaaaaaaaaall the favorites and story alerts! I didn't believe this fanfic to be appreciated by so many people. It started out as an experiment and now we're already at Chapter 3! Thanks so much!

I know that it's not typical Shinji to enjoy girlish things like flowers and generally stuff that makes you feel comfortable but I imagine him to be a very thoughtful and calm person when he's on his own. So, in my head, he is like that. XD

I hope it's okay that I didn't use the Japanese names for the Pokémon. . Lemme know whether you prefer them in Japanese, too, or the way it is in this chapter.

That's it for now! Thanks for reading and I wouldn't mind some feedback, I'm still a bit unsure about this whole idea. :)


	4. Chapter 4

Their way led them through a huge room that Shinji recognized as a research room. The floor like the walls was tiled in a cold blue color, machines lined up on the walls and a big flat screen hung in the center of the wall opposite the door. Some desks that looked like operating tables stood randomly in the room, sheets of paper lazily placed on the side tables and books were lying on the floor. The professor surely didn't think much of tidiness considering this mess.

Hanako stopped in the middle of the room, set her basket down and picked up the books off the floor to put them back in their rightful places. Then she turned around to Shinji and chuckled, "The professor never bothers to clean up his place. It's mostly Kenji who does all the tiding and cleaning but since he's the only assistant living here with Ookido-Hakase, he's busy with a lot of other and more important things. So, whenever I have some spare time, I come here and help him cleaning."

She picked up her basket and walked over to the big glass door that led into the garden. Shinji felt his heart pounding a little faster, a sudden wave of nervousness rushed over him as he followed Satoshi's mother outside. No matter anything, no matter what he had once thought of the great professor, what his brother had told him or how many times Satoshi had been enthusing over the professor. He had met other famous people before, like gym leaders, the king of the battle pyramid, Jindai, and even the champion of the Sinnoh region, Shirona. But this... The history of these grounds was deep and meaningful, important to Kanto's well-being to some extent. This was the place people all over the planet were talking about; a perfect place for Pokémon to live and grow in a natural and peaceful environment. Also, Ookido-Hakase himself wasn't just a simple researcher and poet, according to those tales people loved to tell passerby's, he had saved the world back in the days.

Overwhelmed by the nearly epic atmosphere this place offered to its first-time visitors, Shinji simply followed Hanako along a small path. Old trees with rich tops of green leaves rose aloft here and there, throwing large shadows on the freshly mowed lawn. A few Pokémon were dozing off underneath the trees, hiding from the hot rays of the sun. Some Pidgey were noisily flying above their heads, a huge Pidgeot as their leader. A child's book illustration was what the backyard of the laboratory looked like, almost like a parallel universe. This place felt surreal, too different to be a part of its surrounding world.

After they had passed by a huge pond, a separated field on which a herd of Tauros was running around, they reached uneven territory that was unnaturally sticking out. There were little hills of rocks and sand, the ground looked dried out by the hot sun. Perfect for Pokémon that dreaded water, Shinji thought. He followed Hanako climbing up the rocks until they were on another path leading through the territory. At the end of the path, Hanako suddenly stopped and turned to her left, the usual smile adorning her lips. She waved to someone who must be standing on a lower level than them.

"They're down there," she turned to Shinji, pointing into the direction she had just waved. She chuckled at Shinji's confused look before turning around and climbing down the hill. The way she was only stepping on certain rocks gave the impression that she knew the way by heart and knew to differ the stones from Geodudes.

Carefully, Shinji followed her by taking the same rocks as her, to prevent an accident. By the time he had reached even ground, he saw Hanako standing by a group of three men and a little girl near a small cabin. He remained where he was, not because he was unsure whether to join them or not but to examine them from afar. It had always been one of his characteristics -according to his brother-, to analyze the people before becoming closer with and actually get to know them so -another assumption of his dear brother- he had an opinion of them beforehand and knew how to act. Though he had shrugged it off when his brother had revealed his theories about him, he had never completely pushed them out of his head. Maybe it was one of his flaws to never really forget other people's opinions about him but he couldn't get rid of this behavior.

Two of the men wore lab coats, one of them was Ookido-Hakase, Shinji recognized him immediately. The other one looked younger though he was the same height as the professor. His hair was auburnish, some strains fell into his eyes while the rest of his hair was a mess. Something told him that he had seen him before, but where? He couldn't remember encountering that boy somewhere and he surely would, considering the style of hair. Shinji shoved it to the back of his mind and examined the last of three men. Different from the other two, he was dressed in a plain green shirt and red pants, a pink bandana was wrapped around his forehead. He looked a little off, if you looked at the whole scene with the two professors in their working clothes.

The little girl leaned its head against the younger one of the two white-dressed men who tousled her blonde hair. An unnaturally colored cat-like creature snuggled up against her bare leg, its color scheme matched the one of the girl's dress, yellow with small black dots. Shinji guessed her age around seven, mostly using her bored facial expression as indicating factor. They were probably discussing some research related stuff that was based on theories too complicated for a child's mind.

"Shinji, dear, don't you want to join us?" Hanako called for him, for a split second he believed she confounded him with her son, considering the tone of her voice. He simply nodded as response and walked closer to the group of people. Everybody's looks were on him, they were curious about him he could tell. Except of the auburn-haired boy whose piercing look seemed to drill a hole in his head, planting an awkward feeling inside of him. It made him feel exposed, yet the boy seemed a sheer mystery to him.

It was Ookido-Hakase to make the first step towards Shinji. "So, you're Shinji. Satoshi told a lot about you." The famous smile Shinji had seen in so many magazines and newspapers greeted him, an outstretched hand accompanied the facial expression. "I'm glad to finally meet you."

"Thanks, sir," Shinji nodded and shook the professor's hand. Whatever Satoshi had told his mentor about him, it had left a good impression of him on the researcher. He fought the urge to make a mental note to thank Satoshi for it some day, he would never lower himself onto that level. However, it was a good foundation to build on and Shinji would take use of it.

"I guess it's only polite to do the introducing myself," the professor smiled, then turned to the man with the pink bandana, "This is Kenji, my assistant. If it wasn't for Satoshi, I would've never met such a passionate and skilled Pokémon observer – and assistant, of course."

The man named Kenji offered his hand as well which Shinji took politely. Though the smile on the assistant's face was honest, it was obvious he didn't enjoy how the professor referred to Satoshi by only introducing him to a visitor. Perhaps this whole town revolved around the trainer, his heroism throwing shadows on the other trainer's accomplishments.

Before the Pokémon observer could voice his pleasure of meeting Shinji, the professor moved onto the other young man. The little girl was still clinging onto him, her Shinx stood in front of her, ready to attack if necessary. "This is my grandson Shigeru, a former rival of Satoshi. My grandson's become a researcher like me and studies the biology of Pokémon." A smile of pride flushed over the professor's face, increasing when he turned to the little girl next to his grandson. "And this little lady is my great-granddaughter, Sakura."

Like her father, Sakura had something mysterious about her, she wasn't as transparent to Shinji as the professor or Kenji were. She also seemed to be careful rather than just curious about him and obviously her Shinx sensed it, as it now quietly growled at him. It didn't impress him much, after all he had no interest in harming the little girl or her father.

"Hanako said, you came to Kanto for the Battle Frontier?" Ookido-Hakase didn't seem to notice the tension between Shinji and his grandson.

It was hard to part his eyes from the young researcher whose look was still piercing holes into Shinji. "Yes. I wanted to request another battle with Jindai after the Suzuran Conference, but he declined it and told me to fight the whole Battle Frontier before I battle him. So, I'm here to collect all Battle Symbols in order to challenge him again."

"Then you're probably taking a break from training, am I correct? What a great idea to come to Masara for that," the professor beamed, still unaware of the tensed atmosphere. Although Shinji didn't consider Shigeru as a threat, he sure would have to be careful around him. Whatever it was that prevented the young Ookido from taking his eyes off him, it didn't mean anything good. At least it was obvious why Satoshi and the young researcher used to be rivals; someone like Shigeru wouldn't get along with an air-head like Satoshi, at least from what Shinji could tell so far.

"And we're going to make your stay a wonderful one," Hanako added, clapping her hands and smiling at her guest. There was nothing that could upset this woman, or she was just good at hiding her true feelings. To someone like her, it must be obvious that the professor's grandson didn't like the new trainer, as she was a very smart person. She turned to Ookido-Hakase in an attempt to change the subject. "I brought you tomatoes, freshly harvested."

A little later, they were sitting outside having dinner together. When Hanako didn't stop begging for him to stay, the professor kept on talking about Satoshi and Sakura started to warm up to him, Shinji felt defeated and accepted to have the meal with them. The food was delicious, not that he had expected anything else from someone like Hanako, but the presence of Shigeru made even the fresh evening's air heavy on his lungs. He wasn't sure why this boy bothered him so much, normally he was used to people like him, used to being stared at, particularly those kinds of looks. Just, why? Did Shigeru know something that Shinji didn't? If so, then what? He was still wondering why the professor's grandson looked so familiar. Something was really strange about this person and Shinji didn't like it. And he would find out what, even if this meant to extend his break from training.

* * *

Any more reviews pweeeease? Will make me update sooner ;)


	5. Chapter 5

After dinner, Shinji was invited by Kenji to look through his books and folders of sketches he had done on his travels with Satoshi. Shinji didn't mind the request and had no mind to decline the offer, Kenji seemed to be a nice guy, less annoying than most of the other people that considered themselves Satoshi's friends. And it wasn't like he hated people; he just didn't see a point in society or friends. If being on his own was so wrong and unhealthy like people tended to tell him, then he would already be dead. Obviously, he was quite the opposite so he didn't allow himself to be bothered by other people's opinions. Well, most of the time, that is. Sometimes it was hard to keep his cool, to make sure his protection barrier didn't crumble. But he's never let anyone get close to him, and he would never let it happen.

They entered a room that appeared to be a little archive of Kenji's drawings. The room was little and only had a small old sofa and books that were messily positioned on the shelves. It was not really bright in here, there were no windows and the light from the ceiling was dimmed, making the room more appear like the cellar than an actual part of the first floor. Shinji wasn't sure if Kenji was fine with the little space he had gotten for his work, he probably tried his best not to show any of it if so and he did a pretty good job at it. The pokemon observer seemed very eager about showing his sketch books to someone, that wide smile never left his lips a second.

Watching Kenji looking through his collection and picking out a few books, Shinji stood in the middle of room, feeling just slightly awkward. There was no need to be or a reason to feel uncomfortable in Kenji's presence, he couldn't help but feel that he wasn't supposed to be here in the first place. He was more or less roaming in Satoshi's past for no proper reason. This couldn't be right, he's got to be mental – Satoshi was his rival, still, and they weren't even real friends. What was he doing here, then? And why? Some part of him still hated Satoshi, and the rest of him... was confused. No matter how hard he tried to deny it, he wanted to be here, kind of. Disregarding how wrong it was and how wrong it felt and how much he could scold himself for coming here, he liked it.

"So," Kenji's voice sounded from the shelved wall opposite him. The assistant had turned around with a pile of books in his arms, a smile still on his face. "I've picked out a few, they're mostly from my journey with Kasumi and Satoshi." Those words made the smile grow fainter and Kenji shook his head a little in an attempt to regain his cheerful manner.

Silently, they sat down on the cold and dusty floor with the books lying around them. Shinji had to admit that he was even a little excited for the older boy's drawings, he had never seen any documentations about Pokémon of that kind before, only reports and studies or the facts the PokéDex provided. Since drawing was a non-technical and creative way of documenting observations of wild Pokémon, this sure was something special and most of all unique.

"I have three books with only drawings of Pikachu. It was a lot easier to draw him since he was around me almost all the time," Kenji explained, grabbing a green notebook that had holes and dirt spots all over its cover and backside. He flapped through the pages until he found what he apparently was looking for and handed the book to his guest, "Here, have a look."

On the paper was Pikachu, chubbier and younger looking than Shinji remembered him. The drawing was so detailed that it could also be a black and white photograph, there was nothing off about it, simply so realistically and perfectly drawn that Shinji felt immediately embraced by it. Pikachu had his eyes closed, his face offered a feeling of joyfulness, he was obviously laughing about something. He was sitting on the grass, bending over something a little, something Shinji had instinctively ignored when he first looked at the picture. There was a head that belonged to a body not visible on the paper, lying in the grass and having the same facial expression as Pikachu's. No doubt that it was Satoshi, the untamed black hair, the childish features and the gloved hand that was lying beside his head. Like Pikachu, he looked a lot younger than Shinji remembered him, but just so much like Satoshi as Shinji knew him. So, all the good things that Shinji had come to like (deep down in his heart) about Satoshi, hadn't changed over the years.

"It's beautiful," Shinji smiled as best as he could, handing the book back to its owner. It stung inside his heart to see the drawing and the longer he looked at it, the more jealous he got. He'd hardly ever seen Satoshi like this, not as much as he would like to. And knowing that Kenji had had even the opportunity to capture such a special moment in a picture, made things worse. "You're really talented."

Kenji didn't seem to notice how the drawing affected him, the compliment blinding him obviously. "Thanks a lot! It's hard to really copy emotions since I mostly only draw wild Pokémon that don't show as much emotions as Pikachu and Satoshi share with each other. Their relationship is truly special."

"Yes, it is." The words came out as a whisper which was all Shinji could master. He didn't mean to act like this in front of the other who really deserved better. Kenji was a nice guy, a good guy, someone who received less credit for his works than he was supposed to, in Shinji's opinion. But anything directly Satoshi-related screwed with his mind and heart since he had gotten here and the drawing of a laughing Satoshi wasn't any different.

Aware of Shinji's lack of excitement over Satoshi, Kenji closed the book and opened a blue-covered one. "Here, this book contains only sketches of Kasumi's Pokémon. I tried to keep their Pokémon separated, just so it would be easier to organize all my books later." Looking up from the paper into Shinji's eyes, he added, "You know Kasumi, right?"

"Not really. I've never met her, actually." He didn't know anything about Satoshi's friends, except for Hikari, Takeshi and Jun. Only thing he knew was that Takeshi was probably Satoshi's oldest friend, the only one who had been traveling with him since the very beginning.

"She and Satoshi met under very crazy circumstances. It was when Satoshi set out on his journey with Pikachu, they had an accident with some Spearow that were chasing after them. Pikachu got badly injured but the next Pokémon center was far away in Tokiwa, so when he found Kasumi at the river, he stole her bike to ride the rest of the way," Kenji chuckled, "The bike got broken after the Spearow attacked them again and Kasumi started following Satoshi, to make sure he didn't forget to buy her a new bike. Luckily, they've become friends. However, she never stopped bugging him because of it."

Shinji only nodded, turning his focus on the notebook Kenji was handing him over. The cover of it was decorated with little swirls and flowers carved into the blue-painted material, no dirt and dust spots like Satoshi's book had. On the very first page was a drawing that differed itself from the one in Satoshi's book a lot: Every line seemed to be drawn carefully, every shadow, every flaw seemed to be drawn thoughtfully, the entire page was filled with those lines, forming a girl's face that was the center of the drawing. It was no sketch like the one Shinji had seen before; it was even more detailed, or it only seemed like it because there were so many feelings captured in the picture that it was hard to pick out even one in particular.

"Wow, it's..." What was he supposed to say? There was a girl on the picture with her Togepi -that was somewhere in the corner, easy to miss- and she probably looked beautiful but Shinji wasn't the person to judge the appearance of people, most of all of girls. "Well, it looks good."

When the smile on the assistant's face increased, Shinji knew he had said the right thing. What was it with people wanting him to judge them or other's? Who cared about his judgment anyway. And what did he care about other people or society in general. He only wanted to be a nice guy for once, just in case... just in case Satoshi would find out about his stay here. It was hard to admit it but he was only trying to leave a good impression, only to impress Satoshi somehow. To make up for the past and show that he could be someone better.

A snort sounded from the door, pulling all the attention on itself. The atmosphere grew tensed instantly, as if the tension surfed on the waves of the sound into the room. Kenji's cheerful manner had died down the second the person appeared in the doorway and Shinji could feel the assistant holding his breath. None of them dared to move although Shinji wasn't afraid of the what could happen but he was curious as to what would happen. He settled with staying silent and examining the person in the doorframe, whose piercing look didn't move off him. Even without seeing who it was, the air the boy was bringing along, told Shinji that it could only be Shigeru; that weirdo from earlier. With that appearance of his, it was hard to believe that he was studying Pokémon yet obvious why he used to be a rival of Satoshi's.

"I-I'll be right back," Kenji announced with a grimace of insecurity and awkwardness on his face, he got up to his feet and hurried out of the room, passing by Shigeru who didn't grant him one single look. The room became darker and smaller for some reason, the air thinner, almost as if Kenji had taken the last bit of comfort along with him.

Shinji didn't move. Didn't look away, he was holding the look they were sharing. Like lions that were about to jump at each other any second to fight about their territory. That wasn't so abstract, Shinji thought; after all, this was Shigeru's home and Shigeru's family and obviously, he recognized him as invader, as enemy. To some extent, he was. Since he had gotten here, he had only accepted the offerings of Shigeru's family (whatever Hanako was to him), and the only thing he was giving back was a bad impression on Shigeru. Not that he cared anyway. He wasn't here for him, he was here for Hanako... and Satoshi. If Shigeru thought he could scare him off, he was wrong; Shinji wouldn't let him win.

The moment passed and Shigeru still only stared at him, Shinji finally decided to stand up to be on eye level with the other. They kept on glaring at each other, not saying anything, not moving an inch. From the corners of his eyes, Shinji could see that the brown-haired boy was clenching his fists tightly, obviously trying to contain his anger. How pathetic, he thought, putting on his famous smirk and said dryly, "You shouldn't try to hide the obvious."

* * *

I apologize for the **_delay_**. Yeah, it's been already months since the last update and I know I promised to update sooner... life got in the way, _again_. I got sick badly and work was quite busy, too, so I hardly ever had time to sit down and write for good, and when I had some spare time, I was too exhausted to be creative. I'm really sorry for breaking my promise and I will not make another one now. .

On another note, thanks so much for the reviews, they really made my heart melt! I've never imagined this fanfiction to receive so much credit, so reading all those reviews was overwhelming! *_* I hope I didn't disappoint any of you with this chapter ^.^ There's a big scene including Shigeru coming, already in the making. And I'm thinking about bringing Satoshi into the game but I'm not sure yet... we'll see!

This chapter didn't turn out the way it was planned, I spent too much time writing about Kenji (which was fun by the way). I'll probably work in the stuff I have planned for this one in the next one. :)

For now: Happy reading & happy Easter holidays! ^~^


	6. Chapter 6

"Oh? So you think you know everything, don't you?" Shigeru spat, his bangs falling over his eyes in the process. In the depths of his green eyes, Shinji recognized the faint hints of madness, a sight that amused him. "But you don't. You don't know a thing about him, you're not even a friend of his."

"Him? Who do you mean by _him_?" It wasn't that he didn't knew; it just appeared to be fun to provoke the junior researcher. However it was bugging him that the professor's grandson seemed to know about his broken relationship to Satoshi although he hadn't told anyone yet. He hadn't come across anyone who had known him before, so it was weird why Shigeru seemed to know anything about him. Particularly that.

"You're wondering how I know?" Shigeru's expression relaxed slightly, he rested against the door frame and smirked at Shinji. "Satoshi and I had a long talk before he left for Isshu. And he told me about you, about how cruel you treat your pokémon and how much he wished you would have become friends. But you disappointed him," Shigeru smiled at him triumphantly.

"And? Why would I believe you?" He tried to stay cool and collected, ignoring that yelling voice inside his heart. Shigeru could most likely be lying to him, just to make him leave. Right, he wanted to get rid of him and lied about Satoshi being disappointed. Because... because he wasn't. They had separated on friendly terms, they had set out on their individual journeys as friends and not as rivals anymore. He had held onto that for the past few weeks like he needed it for survival.

"Oh, come on," the brown-haired researcher stepped dangerously closer, leaning into him. "Because you do. You can't deny it." Out of instinct, Shinji stepped backwards, leaving a laughing Shigeru in the doorway. And now, it hit him. The reason why he did believe him was because he seemed so familiar and he seemed so familiar because he had seen him before. _'...__the two of them bonded and became the best of friends.' _On the photograph. Hanako had told him about Satoshi's and Shigeru's friendship back at her house. Shigeru was Satoshi's best friend, the one he trusted the most, so it seemed logical that... that... he was right.

"So?" The lavender-haired trainer became a little nervous; he had no clue how to approach Shigeru and come out of this conversation unharmed. Usually, it was easy for him to just walk away most of the time he didn't even care about the other person. But Shigeru was different from all the others. They seemed so much alike, only from the little he knew about the young researcher; they were so alike to each other that it almost crept him out. Shigeru was a strong person and never stopped mid-way on his way to accomplish something.

The junior professor's eyebrow raised, subliming the expression of disbelief. "_So_? Seriously, Shinji, I didn't think you were _that_ dense." A smirk curled the other male's face into a grimace, showing off triumph and success. "I suggest you leave before I tell everybody else about your true self. I'm sure Hanako wouldn't approve of what she would hear." When his new-found rival didn't respond, he moved to leave the room. "Be careful of your actions, Shinji."

And he was. After declining the offer to stay for a late cup of coffee, Shinji went back to Hanako's house, pretending to be dead tired and needing to rest. For one, he wanted to be away from Shigeru but also needed some time for himself, so he could let the events of the day replay in his head. Some part of him was still believing that it was nothing but one of his stupid dreams that he so often had about Satoshi, or even a daydream for a change because his weak heart was eventually going insane. He would love to believe that he was just dreaming, mostly after the incident with Shigeru earlier but he _knew_ that this was happening and that he had started it. Despite everything he could come up with to justify it (or more calm his stubborn self); he was here because he needed to be, because he had longed to be close to his old rival. And he was starting to feel good about it.

The very next day after the Suzuran Conference, he had woken up in his bed all alone. It had taken him a while, a moment or two, or even a couple of days until he had fully realized that it was all over. No more traveling from town to town, no more feeling the thrill and the battles and most of all: no more running into Satoshi and his friends, no more glares from him, no more seeing how his anger boiled up inside of him and his whole attention was on Shinji. The only other person who had ever really cared about him was his brother but he was nothing more than his brother and brothers were supposed to care for each other. That had made Shinji to like the ever-cheerful, childish, caring Satoshi, the one who couldn't be any more different from him.

Thus, he wanted to be close to Satoshi, spend time with him like friends did. Without seeing his friend every other day or at least once a month, his life felt empty, he felt empty and useless. On some days during his journey in Sinnoh, he had been close to giving up and go back home, give up on his dreams. As if he had been sensing it, Satoshi had always appeared on those days and brightened up Shinji's dark world, had energized his soul and made him see a sense in his dreams. It had all been for Satoshi that Shinji had pulled through, no matter how miserable he had been feeling on some days. And now, Shinji was all alone, his brother was far away in Tobari City, and Satoshi even farther away on some continent Shinji had only seen on the map.

With his mood darkened, Shinji entered the house and was greeted by a joyful Mr Mime who was watching some TV in the living-room, apparently waiting for his trainer to come back. When he noticed that it was only Shinji, he looked puzzled at the young male, his head tilted a bit. Putting on a small smile, Shinji told him that Hanako was still at the professor's for some coffee and that she would be back soon. The psychic pokémon returned the smile and went back to the TV, laughing at the lame jokes the people on the show were making. For a minute, Shinji wanted to join him, laugh at the same jokes as the pokémon and just be a good company to him but the feeling faded away immediately, leaving himself empty on the inside again.

Shaking his head at that thought, the purple-haired trainer climbed the stairs to the bedroom Hanako had offered him. It was probably a medium-sized room but with the fake bunk bed (which had some storage space instead of a lower bunk), the desk, the closet and many sideboards it looked so much smaller than it really was. Unlike expected by Shinji, the walls weren't plastered with silly second-grade posters of cute pokémon, instead photos of friends and places, framed drawings of pokémon and people (most likely created by Kenji) and certificates along with awards and trophies decorated the entire room. It had the flair of a museum, a room for some famous person who had won the whole world. What left a positive and surprising impression on Shinji, was the fact that Satoshi had accomplished all of the things he had been talking about all the time and that in fact, he was probably a lot better than Shinji.

Being in Satoshi's room made Shinji feel a little better, a little warmer inside. He felt close to his friend, yet so far away. Although this was Satoshi's room, there were Satoshi's clothes in the closet, his smell on the bed sheets, his fingerprints everywhere, it was nothing more than a remainder of Satoshi's past that he had long left behind. The real Satoshi was light years away, far ahead of his former self which haunted his room back in old Masara Town.

_If he misses his home?_, Shinji wondered while sitting down on a chair. Knowing the light-headed trainer, he was too engulfed in his battles and training to think about anything that wasn't right there with him. It sounded easy, not to think about too much that didn't really matter, no wonder Satoshi was like that. People tended to call him naïve and even stupid, immature and incapable of long-term feelings but maybe it was Satoshi's way of dealing with all the close-calls, losing friends and seeing the world's end in the eyes so many times. And maybe, all the frustration, hurt and sadness was somewhere deep inside of this never growing-up kid.

His eyes examined all the badges on the shelves, eight from each of the four different regions and four from some place Shinji had never been to, and a trophy that seemed to belong to them. Wherever this place was, Satoshi must be the champion of it; however four badges seemed like an easy achievement. It made him curious about this championship, so he got up and walked over to examine the award further. Unfortunately, there was no inscription or anything else, the trophy didn't even say from where it was. He might have to ask Hanako about it as soon as she was back from the professor's lab.

It was pitch-black outside and close to midnight, a day full of weird incidents and trouble came to an end, lying down on Shinji's shoulders. He felt exhausted after all that had happened yet was too curious about this place, too excited about the new things he had learned about his friend and about the things that were about to happen. It would keep him awake all night probably but he didn't mind; as long as he was here, wouldn't spend a single thought on training anyway. So he would look around Satoshi's old belongings instead, find out more about him and intensify the feeling of being close to him.

Just when he was opening the drawer of a sideboard, Mr Mime appeared in the doorway, looking utterly excited about something and trying to tell Shinji something. His long comical index finger pointed into the direction of the stairs, as if to tell him to go downstairs. _Why wasn't he able to use telepathy to communicate with humans, being a psychic type it shouldn't be that difficult_, Shinji thought, turning to the pokémon. "You want me to go downstairs?" Mr Mime nodded in response, pleased that the younger trainer had understood his message.

Downstairs, the human-type pokémon led his follower to the phone, indicating that someone was on the other side of it. After Mr Mime left to go back into the living-room, Shinji sat down in front of the monitor, hesitating at saying a word. It must be someone important that Mr Mime had asked him to answer the call instead of telling the person (in whatever way) that Hanako was unavailable at the moment. Who was it? What was Shinji supposed to say? Or do? What i-

"Hello? Anybody there?" A voice sounded through the speakers, the screen was still hiding the person's face behind blackness. There was no use for revealing the other's appearance as Shinji recognized the voice right away. _This couldn't be real._

"Mr Mime? This is not funny," the person continued, seemingly annoyed by not being answered. He sounded so mature, so manly, so much older, causing Shinji's stomach to churn in excitement. "Oh, come on, I'm really not in the mood for your jokes." His voice showed off more of his annoyance now, he was obviously not in a good mood.

Shinji decided to harrumph for the start, just to make his presence clear. When there was nothing coming back, he gathered all his courage and said dryly, "Hello, Satoshi."

Nothing but silence came out of the speakers and Shinji thought for a second the other boy had hung up on him. He shifted on his seat, hands sweating and his heart racing, so untypical for him. Never had he imagined himself to react like this upon hearing Satoshi's voice, he was downright nervous about the younger boy's reaction.

"H-hello, Shinji..." The Masara trainer's voice turned soft and quiet all of a sudden, a hint of nervousness inside of it. Both of them seemed surprised to hear from the other, after all, this was what Shinji had least expected to happen during his stay here. "Uh... uhm... would you... maybe turn on the... screen...?"

Doing as he was told, Shinji's trembling hand reached out for the button on the monitor and the screen flashed up, showing an older version of the Satoshi he knew. His facial expression was less childish, hair cupping his face, he looked tired and far from the cheerful, air-headed boy Shinji had used to know. Life's sharp claws had left their marks on his soul, so much was clear from looking into his eyes.

"What are you doing in my house? I thought you wanted to challenge Jindai again," Satoshi asked, his voice a little more solid. His eyes were smiling faintly and something told Shinji that the black-haired trainer was happy to see him.

Breathing in and out deeply, choosing his words wisely; he wanted to appear like the Shinji he used to be. "I'm on a break for some training and got invited by your mother to stay here during that time." But it was harder than expected. The joy about seeing Satoshi was settling in and he couldn't fight it.

"On a break for some training? I thought you were only asking for one battle?" Satoshi reached for something next to the screen, bringing a cup into the picture. Was he drinking coffee? Shinji had never seen him drinking coffee, as far as he knew, Takeshi had always made tea for him.

"Well... Jindai said it was better if I challenged the entire Battle Frontier before battling him again, and actually, I wasn't even granted an official battle with him without the Battle Symbols," Shinji explained calmly. "And so I'm here in Kanto, training and winning the symbols, and your mother was nice to let me stay here. This is my first day, though."

"That sounds like her!," Satoshi chuckled. Lowering his gaze, his face returned to the emotionless expression it was covered in from the beginning of the call. After taking another sip of whatever he was drinking, he added: "I'm at a friend's house, we're staying over for the night. It's almost winter over here and it seems like the world's going to end outside."

"Who is 'we'?," Shinji asked, shifting into a more comfortable position. Since Satoshi was in for some smalltalk, he felt less nervous and was even starting to enjoy the call. Everything seemed less terrifying, even the words from Shigeru lost some of their intensity.

"Ah, some friends I've made over here. A girl called Iris and a guy named Dent. They're pretty nice." The other trainer's eyes were focused on the stirring moves with the spoon in his cup, his voice lacking of any conviction. "So, how is everything over there? How are they treating you?"

"Uhm..." Should he tell him about his conversation with Shigeru? Maybe his words were just lies? Satoshi would be able to tell. "Your mum's a very nice lady and... and Ookido-Hakase invited me for dinner, I got to know his assistant who is a really nice guy and... and his grandson..."

"Oh, Shigeru... don't mind him, he's difficult. Whatever he's been telling you, don't put too much thought into it, it's not worth it," Satoshi winked, his lips moving into a small smile. "He likes to exaggerate a lot." After a pause, he whispered, "It's so good to see you."

Smiling honestly, Shinji replied quietly, "Same here. I... I'm missing... you a lot."

Satoshi's head shot back up, eyes widened and staring at Shinji through the screen. Surprised at what his friend had just said, even though Shinji couldn't quite tell if it was good or bad. "Are you alright, Shinji? You are sick, aren't you?"

"I know it sounds strange coming from me but... it's true..." Shinji looked down on his hands, afraid to meet his friend's eyes. What if Satoshi felt disgusted by those words? It sounded pretty gay after all, so he wouldn't blame him for hating him for saying that. "Uh... never mind."

"No, no. It's just... so not you to say anything like that. You're not quite yourself actually, Shinji, at least you're not really like the one I used to know. And if the new Shinji says things like that, I think I don't miss the old one too much," Satoshi smirked, raising his cup to his lips again. "Oh and, I'm missing you, too. That was the point in telling you how good it was to see you again. I feel lonesome a lot over here."

Blushing at the statement, Shinji tried to focus the topic of their conversation back on Satoshi. "But you still have Pikachu and your new friends, you're not that lonely." _Not as lonely as me..._

"True and without them and especially without Pikachu here, I would be lost. But nonetheless, they don't know me so well like Takeshi or like Hikari or like you. And as much as I love Pikachu; he's just a pokémon after all. Nothing over here feels right to me... and the worst thing is: I have too much time to think back and lose myself in memories. It drains me out," he laughed nervously.

Shinji nodded, "You look tired and exhausted. Not at all like I remember you... and a lot older." A smirk appeared on his face at that, taking in Satoshi's new air. Despite the dark spots under his eyes, the paleness of his lips and skin, he looked pretty handsome.

"That's just because you haven't seen me in a while. It's only been four months or so, I haven't changed that much. And coming back to you, you look older yourself, you've grown pretty," Satoshi chuckled, winking at him again. Was it an attempt at flirting with him?

"Are you flirting with me, huh?" Shinji tried to look unamused but couldn't really hide his blush.

"So? Maybe I am, anything wrong with that?" The younger male put on what looked like a seductive expression, something Shinji wasn't aware his face was capable of. Surprisingly, it didn't look horrible at all, even more it did its purpose.

"No, it's just... weird. I don't know if you're realizing it but you're flirting with a guy and that guy is me," Shinji said quietly, feeling sadness pulling at his insides. He was somehow hoping Satoshi would say something that made him feel special, maybe even say that he was flirting with him because... he was flirting with him and not to be funny.

Satoshi's smile faded, his gaze lowered again. "I know that, Shinji." They went silent, looking down at their hands as the atmosphere grew unbearable and tense. Something was off about that statement from Satoshi and they both knew it, they both sensed that it wasn't fitting into their friendship. "Well, I should go... I have to... help the others... or so..." But he didn't move to turn off the phone, instead fell back into silence for a moment before looking back up, "Shinji, I..."

* * *

I'm curious about your opinions, I'm not really happy with this chapter but it's the best I've come up with. :/

Thanks so much for the reviews and favorites so far, it means a lot to me!


	7. Chapter 7

"Satoshi!" The loud and cheerful voice of Hanako sounded from behind Shinji, making them both jump in surprise. The Tobari trainer held his breath, not daring to turn around or say another word. Why hadn't he thought that Hanako could come home any second? Hanako rushed to his side so she could be on eye level with her son. "My dear, it's so good to see you! How have you been?"

"Uh..." Satoshi seemed confused, due to the interruption and his mother's reaction to seeing him. "Hi... I've been fine... and you?"

Feeling the situation growing awkward, Shinji excused himself, offering his friend an apologetic smile and walked back into his room. The door fell shut and Shinji immediately against it, his heart racing. After calming down, he walked over to the chair again to sit down, his mind was still focused on what had happened downstairs. From the minute he had entered this house until a few minutes ago, Hanako had been believing a lie, that Shinji didn't know her son at all and then she found the two of them talking on the phone. A smart lady like her would find that fishy, Shinji thought, depending on how much of their conversation she had heard before she'd interrupted her son. What had Satoshi wanted to say? Whatever it was, he would not be able to sleep tonight, it would bother him the next few days.

What if Hanako found out that he had lied to her, what would she do? Satoshi didn't know that his mother thought they wouldn't know each other, guaranteeing that the younger trainer would reveal his lie to her. Why had he lied to her in the first place? To hide his past, their past? To let everyone believe he was someone he would never be?

He groaned and slammed his fist into his thigh. When did things start to become so complicated? Before he had met Satoshi and even then, his life and emotions had been easy structured. There was his destination and the road was only big enough for him, all he'd ever cared about revolved around him and his goal. Never would he give that up, he had always been determined to live by his own rules, forever. No one would be able to change that, change him anyway, he didn't want anyone to change him. The bitter truth was that nobody had ever tried enough for him to acknowledge it.

Well, it wasn't that he gave people the chance to get closer and have an attempt, the more distant the people were, the better. Even as a kid, he had felt uncomfortable around other kids, their looks and whispers, the mocking tone in every word they spoke to him; he had soon found out that no one liked him and that he needed no one to like him. There had been too many incidents and accidents in his life that proved him right about his idea on life and that living it alone could be indeed bliss. People were only obstacles and so were their illusions called love and friendship, if he wouldn't know better he would think they were some company's marketing methods.

With a deep sigh, Shinji rose to his feet, grabbed his bag and walked over to the bed, climbed onto the overused mattress and settled in the middle of it, his backpack in front of him. He should probably get some rest, the day had been a long and almost adventurous one and in addition, he had spent half of the past night traveling. Despite all the feelings and thoughts that kept his mind wide awake, he felt sore and tired, and just wanted to lay down and have some privacy. Hanako wouldn't come up to him anymore, he figured, either they would deal with it tomorrow morning or never, either way he couldn't change it. He might as well leave as soon as he was awake again and try to catch the next flight back to Tobari City. It was fine if Shigeru didn't get along with him, and his daughter for that matter, but the last thing he wanted was to be a burden to Hanako who was so polite to him from the very moment they met. And yet, he had lied to her.

As soon as he had changed, turned off the lights and covered himself in the blankets, his thoughts were back with Satoshi. The opened window allowed a small and warm breeze of the nightly air to fly in, softly brushing through his lavender hair. Tonight seemed to be the warmest of nights since he had arrived here, close to unbearable but he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway with those thoughts on his mind. The weather back home was a lot cooler, especially the nights, thus he had had a hard time adjusting to the warm nights here in Kanto. How was Satoshi doing then, coming from a country that only switched from summer to spring to summer, to a region that was known for its tough winters? If he was enjoying it, experiencing snow and all that kind? A lopsided smile formed on Shinji's lips, if he had wanted snow, he could've spent a vacation in Kissaki City. They could have met, spent some time together and Shinji wouldn't have to lie in Satoshi's bed to feel close to him.

The moon was shining in through the window, embracing the room in a surreal light. It didn't feel like home at all, but no place had ever felt like home to him. Yet, he was certain that he would look back when he left, he slowly starting to found a bonding to this place. Probably because of Satoshi, maybe even because of Hanako's kindness, but most of all because he felt free for a change. Until now, he hadn't felt caged or anything similar but ever since he had arrived here he was loosening up, as if the demons that were chasing him were left outside of Masara, waiting for him to come back. He was safe here, from his past and his own self-harming ideas, from all the people that had helped their best to turn him into the cold person he was.

Masara was almost a paradise compared to Tobari; not only that no one knew him here, they didn't even care about his roots. As long as you were kind, didn't mistreat nature and pokemon, you could live the perfect life in this town. Unlike Tobari, where nothing was ever forgotten.

Early in his life, about age five when he had just entered elementary school, Shinji had learned more about his family and their reputation than he had ever wished for. The kids knew from their parents who either knew from rumors and other people's words who had witnessed any of their stories with their own eyes. Whatever his family or rather his parents had done to society, Shinji had suffered from it. He had never found out why his brother was popular and loved by almost everyone but he had been the one getting his face shoved into toilets and beaten up after school. People had never liked him much and he had learned the hard way from the very beginning, which was why he never wasted his energy into trust or faith or any kind of relationship.

Every time he met someone new, it took less than a minute for them to develop a grudge towards him. Upon meeting Hikari and Takeshi, he hadn't had any hope it would be different, sadly he had been right. Particularly Hikari who had made it clear almost too many times that she disliked him. He wasn't so sure about Takeshi though but it seemed surreal that someone like him would accept a person like Shinji. When they met again and again, he had figured that Satoshi was just dense and not able to understand what kind of person he was but no matter what Shinji had done, the Masara trainer had kept on coming back to him, obviously never loosing the hope of changing him.

Shinji sighed and sat up. Would he ever be able to compensate Satoshi's attempts on becoming his friend? How could he thank him, make his efforts worth everything they might have cost? Right now, there was nothing Shinji could do or give, or even say. For the moment, he was craving to call him back and tell him what he was feeling, ignoring the voice in his head that tried to convince him how ridiculous he must be behaving. He was missing another boy as much as a three-year-old would miss its favorite teddy bear. What was going on with him? Or rather, what was going wrong?

The sound of footsteps in the corridor reached his ears and he laid back down, not able to make out whether it was Mr. Mime or Hanako. Latter wouldn't come in, he was certain but it was possible that Mr. Mime wanted to check up on him or was maybe instructed to throw him out. Shifting into a comfortable position, he closed his eyes in order to concentrate on the noise outside the room. As soon as his cheek was nuzzled into the soft pillow, his arm loosely wrapped around it, he drifted off into a deep slumber.

* * *

Without warning, the door swung open, hitting the sideboard next to it with a very noisy thud and almost knocked off the trophies on top of it. "Get up, punk," a grumpy voice sounded from the door, violently pulling Shinji out of his deep sleep. "Hurry, I'm not waiting forever." With that, the door was pulled back shut again, as loudly as it had been opened. Shinji grunted and turned onto his back, remembering where he was before he dared another move. Right, he was still in Masara, at Hanako's place, lying in Satoshi's bed. And what the hell had just happened?

The sunlight greeted him mercilessly when he sat up, blinding him for a second as he tried to adjust to his surroundings. His bag was still lying on the edge of the bed, his clothes neatly folded next to it. He hadn't been tossing and turning like most nights which was why he had started to fold his clothes and place them at his feet, so he would find out how his sleeping had been the next day. After stretching a bit, he got dressed and packed his backpack, straightened the blanket and put the pillow back in place before he left the room (also moving the trophies back to their place on his way out).

What had woken him up a few minutes ago had unmistakably been Shigeru's voice, judging from his undertone he wasn't pleased at all to have been the one to wake him up. Why couldn't he wait forever? And why had he woken him up in the first place? He pushed the thoughts out of his head as he reached the bathroom and performed his cleaning duties, although his thoughts kept on coming back to Shigeru and what his problem was. It didn't take him long to brush his teeth and wash his face so only a little later he stepped out of the bathroom and climbed down the stairs, halted in front of the opened kitchen door, showing Satoshi's mother doing the dishes. Memories from yesterday came back to him, Hanako was probably still mad at him or even worse or whatever she felt about what had happened the evening before. He couldn't escape his fate nonetheless, with that thought on his mind he entered the kitchen and harrumphed softly, a small 'hello' leaving his lips.

A piece of cutlery hit the bottom of the sink with a loud clatter, breath held for a moment in which none of them moved. Hanako finally turned around, a small but soft smile on her lips, "Shinji, don't scare me like that!" Her eyes didn't give away much or she was really smiling, not just faking this emotion. When Shinji didn't move closer, Hanako chuckled as she grabbed a towel to dry her hands off. "About yesterday... we'll talk later. I'm honestly disappointed but I won't come up with any conclusion before I heard your explanation," she winked at him with a warm smile, "And now go, Shigeru-kun is waiting outside and he's not at all happy about going on a trip with you." She sighed but maintained her smile, obviously waiting for Shinji to say his goodbye and leave to join the researcher. When he didn't, she tilted her head a tad and noticed the backpack he was holding firmly in one hand. "I don't believe that there's a need to bring your clothes, as far as I know you're only supposed to deliver something to the museum in Nibi City, you should be back home for dinner," she blinked, slightly confused by the packed bag in his hand.

Sighing deeply, Shinji spoke quietly, "I thought that... because of yesterday, I..." He paused when the brown-haired woman's expression turned even more confused. "You know because I..."

"Oh! You thought I was going to throw you out, right?" She finally concluded, her hand reached out to grab the trainer's arm softly. Her features softened immediately, the smile returning to her lips. "As I said, I am disappointed but I won't make any decisions before I've heard you out, alright? I'm sure you had your reasons. Also, Satoshi-kun told me a lot about you two and so I want to have a talk with you first." She nudged his arm gently and added, "But now go, Shigeru can be unpleasant when he's in a bad mood."

"Thank you," Shinji nodded with a very faint smile, turned around and dropped his bag off in the hallway on his way to the door. He passed by the photographs of the infant versions of Satoshi and Shigeru and chuckled mentally, somehow feeling how the sad wish of wanting to be a part of their friendship rushed through his heart, fading away just as quickly as any random emotion or thought he had since his arrival in Masara.

It was still warm outside, tending to turn humid towards the middle of the day and he hoped he wouldn't be stuck in some car with the other teen then. Said teen was leaning against an old, dirty van as he exited the house, his facial expression soft and peaceful while his eyes were fixed on his Evee that was playing with an overly excited Marill. Only when Shinji closed the little door of the fence behind him, Shigeru looked up, providing the same look as he had upon their first meeting. He didn't say a word, instead knelt down in front of the playing pokemon and petted the blue mouse's head. "We gotta go now, you can play together later when we're back, okay?" Both pokemon looked rather sad at the young researcher, making him sigh but not losing the soft undertone in his voice. "I don't think Kenji would be too pleased if you tagged along, he needs your help with his daily chores. He counts on you and you don't want to let him down, right?" The water mouse shook its head, still sad that it couldn't stay with his friend longer and turned to hug the other pokemon before it took off into the direction of the professor's laboratory.

"Took you long enough," Shigeru grunted as he moved back up, brushing off the dirt on his gray jeans. "Get in, I'll tell you the details on our way, we're being late already." Without another glance, the young researcher walked around the car, followed by a rather cheerful Evee, and climbed onto his side of the van behind the wheel. Not waiting for Shinji to get in as well, he started the engine as soon as he sat down, his pokemon settling down on the backseat.

The Tobari trainer closed his eyes for a moment to calm his nerves, the prospect of spending a drive to Nibi City together with this idiot was just perfect. He climbed into the car quickly, shut the door and Shigeru set off right away, he wasn't even sure if the door was closed before the brunette drove down the sandy road. It was silent for a while except for the occasional greeting from Shigeru when they passed by a villager, Shinji wondered if Shigeru just didn't want to drive faster or the car wasn't capable of more speed. However, they paced up as soon as they left Masara and Shinji couldn't help but chuckle at the image of Shigeru carelessly driving over some caterpies with the gaining speed they were driving along Route 1.

"I don't know if Hanako-san told you anything, I've only found out this morning either," Shigeru all of a sudden started with, his voice less annoyed. "There's something I have to deliver to the museum in Nibi City and also want to visit the excavation on Mt. Moon, so my grandfather suggested or rather insisted you should come along. I am as pleased about this as you are." When Shinji didn't speak even after ten minutes, Shigeru added, "That doesn't mean you're not allowed to speak unless you dislike me so much."

Shinji smirked at those words, "That's what you wish, right? But I have to disappoint you, I'm not one of that kind. Before I start hating someone, I rather don't give a shit about them."

"So wise, Shinji," the junior researcher grinned, slowing the van down as they reached the suburbs of Tokiwa City. Since it was still early in the morning, the streets were almost empty except for a few people who seemed to be on their way to work. Watching the people here and comparing them to the villagers of Masara, was like comparing a preschool kid to a college graduate; while almost everyone in Masara dedicated their lives to pokemon and nature, hardly anyone in Tokiwa even owned a pokemon, yet ever touched one. Similar to Tobari City and all the other big cities of that kind. It seemed to Shinji when he was little (and it still felt like it) that pokemon trainers of any kind lived in a different, separate world than the rest of society. While the gym was the most important institution next to the pokemon center for a trainer, most inhabitants didn't even know their city owned one of those, some didn't even know the purpose of said buildings.

"Do you want to make a stop? I haven't had breakfast yet," Shigeru asked, getting ready to enter the heart of Tokiwa which was luckily almost empty at this time of day. "I bet you haven't either. Let's grab a bite, my treat."

Surprised by the sudden change of manner, Shinji remained silent while Shigeru drove onto the parking lot of some mall. Why wouldn't they eat at the pokemon center? He decided against asking any questions, the tension between them seemed to ease off slowly which he was grateful for and didn't want to screw it up again. The three of them exited the van and walked over to the big entrance of the mall, surprisingly visited with a good amount of people for this time of day. Shigeru led them up to the second floor, past boutiques, bookstores, hairdressers and other kinds of shops Shinji hadn't visited in ages, and stopped in front of a small cafe that filled a niche between a mobile phone store and a shop for home decoration. Apparently, the young researcher came here often, considering how quickly he led them here and the way he greeted the barista; it gave Shinji a strange feeling that the normally defensive Shigeru showed him one of his favorite places to eat.

They sat down on a table at the window, opposite of each other, where the waiter brought the menu immediately. There were no other people in this cafe, Shinji wasn't so sure why since the interior consisting of pale orange walls, delicate paintings and auburn furniture was quite welcoming, almost nostalgic, but he guessed it was due to the fact that it wasn't even past eight o'clock in the morning. The silence between them was awkward but not tensed which was positive, Shinji figured, he didn't want any trouble with the other boy when they had only started their trip. Evee was lying curled up in a ball between the large window and its trainer's feet, totally relaxed and dowsing off.

* * *

Next chapter includes secrets to be revealed, confessions to be made and an unexpected turn!


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